


Painting and Singing

by satinandsteel



Category: GOT7
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-06
Updated: 2015-12-14
Packaged: 2018-05-05 04:57:01
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,935
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5362238
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/satinandsteel/pseuds/satinandsteel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Mark never imagined that a stink bomb would lead him to such an... Interesting guy.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

          Mark hadn’t even  _wanted_ to bethere. It was Jackson who had set off the stink bomb, he’d just been the unfortunate bystander. Well – okay, maybe he’d been a slightly amused bystander. But really, he’d told Jackson it wasn’t a good idea for many, many obvious reasons and he’d tried to stop him (not very hard, but he’d still tried). He’d told Jackson that he wanted nothing to do with the event, but the coaxing and pleading and whining finally got to him and he found himself following Jackson through the halls in order to watch it all go down. And then found himself frozen in place while Jackson was running down the corridor and away from Mr. Park. Which left him, alone, at the scene of the crime, with a scarf pulled up high over his face in preparation.

           So now he found himself in the school theatre, looking around curiously at the actors practicing on stage, light and technical crew arguing about how there was rewiring that needed to be done, a couple prop kids working in the background and painting set pieces. “Hey – hey!” Spinning around, he caught sight of a dark-haired boy with glasses rushing towards him, holding out his hand. “Mark, yes?” The blonde nodded, shaking the boy’s hand briefly. “I’m Jinyoung – you can call me Junior.”

           Mark nodded again, just taking everything in, trying to get a feel for the place. The truth was, the punishment didn’t bother him so much. He was used to sliding between different groups in silence – it was why him and Jackson got along so well. They were both able to talk to nearly anyone, Jackson because he was so social and talkative, Mark because he was so good at listening.

           And damn, did this kid know how to talk. He was going off at a mile a minute, saying something about how there was no way he could get onto the tech crew because they weren’t good with new recruits, could be a little uneasy with people who weren’t tech savvy, and the production crew didn’t need any extra assistants, but god knows the set crew could use some help because the set was pretty elaborate this year and there was so much painting to do, and… Mark turned his head back to Jr, focusing again because he thought the boy had actually given him a direction. “Hm?” he hummed quietly, dark eyes meeting Jr’s.

           Jr pointed to the back of the set, frowning slightly as he repeated, “Follow Youngjae – he’ll show you the ropes.” Mark squinted, looking around to the back of the set, giving Youngjae a questioning look. “He’s the one that’s… Skipping,” the dark-haired boy muttered, rolling his eyes. Mark looked back towards the stage – oh, there he was. The kid was skipping around the back, splashing a backdrop with paint, flicking his brush across the wooden set.

           Pacing down through the rows of chairs, he climbed up onto the stage, making his way to the back. “Youngjae?” he called out quietly, and the younger boy spun around, grinning wildly.

           “You must be Mark!” he yelled out, rushing over to greet the blonde, sticking his hand out in the same manner as Jr. Except his hand was covered with paint. Mark raised an eyebrow, and Youngjae glanced down at his hand, chuckling as he realized his error. “Oops. Anyways – you’re gonna help me out, right?” Mark nodded slowly, a small smile creeping onto his face. “Great! Well – the best way to get started would be to grab a paintbrush and just… Go for it!” He skipped back towards the set, humming something to himself, leaving Mark watching with curiosity. And he’d thought Jackson was weird…

* * *

           “Hey – do you know anything about a guy named Youngjae?” Jackson glanced up from his food, frowning over at Mark.

           “Youngjae?”

           “Yeah – part of the drama club, a little loopy…” Jackson thought it over, chewing on one of his fries, then his eyes lit up.

           “Oh – he’s the one that’s constantly singing in the hallways!” When Jackson didn’t continue, Mark balled up his napkin, tossing it at him. “What? I mean, he’s a sophomore, kind of a weirdo – he definitely likes talking, and singing even more.”

           “Singing?” Mark asked curiously, cocking his head to the side.

           Jackson nodded, shoving some more fries into his mouth. “Yeah, he’s always got a tune in his head apparently – either skipping, humming, singing…”

           “Interesting…” Mark mumbled to himself, thinking about the dark-haired kid and his silly painting techniques and his strange habits.

* * *

           It was Friday night, nearly 8, and Mark found himself still in the theatre, laughing along to one of Youngjae’s silly stories. Even though his ‘punishment’ had ended weeks ago, he’d stuck around - said they clearly needed his help (definitely not so he could have an excuse to keep talking to Youngjae). The kid’s laugh was contagious, and the two of them were practically rolling on the theatre floor, their voices echoing throughout the empty room. “So – so you’re saying you really covered Jr with paint?” Mark asked, slowly sitting up, one hand holding his stomach because of how much it hurt from laughing.

           “Well… I mean, it  _was_  an accident,” Youngjae retorted, grinning innocently. Mark rolled his eyes, grinning right back. “Come on – we gotta keep painting if we ever wanna finish this set piece.” Mark nodded, slowly pushing himself to his feet, reaching out for Youngjae. The younger grabbed the hand tightly, pulling himself up, already humming a little tune.

           “What are you singing?” Mark asked as they picked up their buckets, turning back towards the furniture pieces they were painting. Youngjae went quiet at that, focusing on the bookshelf he was turning white. “Jae?”

           “It – it’s nothing,” he answered shyly, much to Mark’s surprise. As he’d come to learn over the past few weeks, Youngjae was rarely ever shy. He felt no shame in admitting to Jr his constant errors in set creation, nor did he mind correcting actors when they messed up their lines. Mark was pretty sure he was more embarrassed for Youngjae than the younger one ever was.

           “Oh, come on – just tell me,” Mark teased, moving towards Youngjae and nudging him with his elbow. Youngjae started to blush, looking down at his feet, cautiously dipping his paintbrush back into the bucket.

           “It’s, a… It’s a song I wrote.” Mark’s paintbrush fell to the floor with that statement, his mouth gaping in shock.

           “You  _write_ music?” Youngjae nodded slowly, rubbing his hand across the back of his neck.

           “It’s why I’m always humming – to keep the melodies in my head.” Mark nodded slowly, his admiration for the boy only growing – along with his curiosity. What else was Youngjae hiding in that head of his?

           “Hey… You wanna grab some coffee after this?” Youngjae glanced over at Mark, eyes wide, and the older boy simply shrugged, hoping he understood what he meant.

           “Well… I prefer hot chocolate, but I’d be alright with coffee, if it’s with you?” Mark had to stifle a laugh, glancing up to the ceiling and shaking his head, grinning widely.

           “Hot chocolate works just fine Youngjae.”


	2. Chapter 2

“How long do you think it’ll be until Junior has an aneurysm?” Youngjae gave his boyfriend a horrified look, swatting him across the head as he began to giggle, the two of them sitting on one of the shelving units they’d been painting about a week and a half earlier. Junior was already about to murder them for how long it was taking them to paint (though honestly, he’d prefer they took forever and that he didn’t know the full details of what went on after all the actors and stage crew had left the theatre), and Youngjae was pretty sure that Mark’s snarky remarks wouldn’t get them anywhere closer to being on his good side.

            “Shut up,” the younger one muttered, though it was hard for him to avoid smiling when Mark was grinning up at him like that. It amazed him how funny the older boy was – outside of the theatre or their private moments alone, he was always so quiet, watching everything going on. But as soon as they were alone, his personality practically exploded out of him, lighting him up like a ray of sunshine. Youngjae didn’t mind either way – he adored Mark regardless of how little he did or didn’t talk.

            “Oh, come on – either that or the vein in his neck is going to burst.” Youngjae glared at his boyfriend at that, who simply stuck out his tongue in response, pressing a quick peck to the younger one’s cheek. He admittedly wasn’t paying full attention though – his focus was on the scene on stage, his lips silently forming the words that JB was reciting on stage. It had taken a few dress rehearsals for Mark to realize that Youngjae actually had the entire musical memorized off by heart down to the minute stage cues. When he questioned Youngjae about how he’d come to know them so well, the younger shrugged, stating, “It’s my favorite musical.”

            “Then why didn’t you audition?” Mark had finally brought himself to ask one day as they were studying at his place, occasionally balling up his trig worksheets to toss at Youngjae’s head. The dark-haired boy shrugged, chewing on the end of his pen as he reread his essay for the eighth time.

            “JB always gets the lead – plus, I like watching everything going on, when you’re an actor, you don’t really get to interact with anybody else besides the cast.” Mark could hear the faint longing in Youngjae’s voice, however, and decided in that moment that he would figure out a way to remedy this situation for his boyfriend.

*

            “Alright – that’s a wrap on rehearsals tonight!” Most of the actors let out groans of relief, and JB let out an appreciative (and very loud) thank you towards the director – they’d been rehearsing for the past five hours, and were beyond exhausted. “Remember guys – first show tomorrow night, so everybody go home, get some rest! And would you two GET OFF THE PROPS.” Youngjae took that as their cue to escape the theatre before Junior could truly unleash his wrath upon them.

            “We’re going, we’re going!” Youngjae called out, waving as he grabbed Mark’s hand and pulled him off the shelving unit, the two of them hurrying down the stage steps. “You’re coming to the show, right?” Mark rolled his eyes, nudging Youngjae’s side as the two of them collected their jackets, walking through the aisles to the back of the theatre.

            “Of course – I mean, we worked so hard, I want to see our talents shine.” It was Youngjae’s turn to roll his eyes, gently punching Mark in the stomach, trying hard not to chuckle as the older one feigned intense pain, falling to one knee at the back of the theatre. “Mind if I bring Jackson with me though?”

            “No, of course not,” Youngjae responded, smiling up at the blonde as they reached the front doors of the school. “You know I think he’s funny.”

            Mark smiled, leaning in and pressing a quick kiss to Youngjae’s lips, mumbling, “So, I’ll see you tomorrow?” Youngjae nodded, smiling shyly before rushing out the door and down the steps so he could catch the bus to get home. Mark immediately pulled out his phone, dialing up Jackson’s number. As soon as the dial tone died, Mark cut to the chase: “So you’re helping me with this tomorrow, yes?”

            “Mark – you realize your plan is insane, yes?” The older boy rolled his eyes, sighing at Jackson’s apparent reluctance.

            “A – how many stupid plans have I helped you with? Honestly – might I remind you _I_ was the one who took the fall for that stupid stink bomb of yours? B – you’ll get to spend three hours, all alone, with JB.” The other end of the line went quiet for a few moments before Jackson finally grumbled out some kind of agreement, Mark grinning as the plan began to fall together in his head.

*

            “Has anybody seen JB?!” Junior was frantic, running around the backstage wildly, trying to avoid crashing into other crew members, pausing in front of Mark who was surprisingly calm considering how everyone was rushing around him. “Have _you_ seen JB?!” Mark simply shrugged, which appeared to be enough of a response for Junior, sending him off on the wild goose chase for a little longer. Glancing down at his phone, Mark sent a quick text to Jackson. _You got him, right?_ –M

            _He isn’t going anywhere_ , Jackson responded, grinning as he looked down at JB, who was scowling up at him from where he was trapped on the floor, tied up. “You’re going to get in so much shit for this,” he hissed, eyes widening as Jackson cackled wildly, leaning back against the door of the janitor’s closet.

            “I’ve already come to terms with that, pretty boy – you might as well adjust to the fact that you and I are about to get to know each other very well over the next couple of hours.” JB let out a growl of frustration, struggling against the ropes Jackson had found, watching with a glare as Jackson crouched in front of him, grabbing his chin and tilting his head up. “Who knows – maybe if you’re good, I’ll even untie you!”

*

            “Mark!” Mark glanced up, noting Youngjae running towards him, anger in his eyes.

            “What’s up?” the older boy asked, smiling innocently. Youngjae wasn’t falling for it, though – he could see past that innocent grin and shoved the boy gently, ignoring his cry of surprise.

            “Where – is – he.”

            “Where’s who?” Mark simply responded, trying to stall as Junior began running back in their direction, wailing about how his career as a director was over if JB didn’t show up soon. “JUNIOR!” Youngjae was already trying to cut off Mark’s train of thought, but the older boy simply clapped a hand over his mouth, calling out, “Let Youngjae take his place!” Junior froze at those words, horror flickering across his face.

            “You’re – you’re kidding, right?” Mark shook his head, releasing Youngjae’s mouth, gesturing at the younger boy (who was trying very hard to hold in a scream).

            “He knows the entire play by heart – and he knows every single song.” Gesturing again at Youngjae, he raised his eyebrows, hoping the younger boy would play along. Youngjae swallowed hard, his morals telling him he should rat Mark out… But he also knew this may be his only chance.

            “I’m singin’ in the rain… Just singin’ in the rain…” he sang softly, his voice wobbling a little with nerves. Junior wanted to argue, wanted to scream _no,_ but… The kid could definitely belt a tune.

            “Get to the dressing room, now. No buts, no discussion, _go_.” Junior marched past the two of them, leaving Mark with a grin and Youngjae with a shocked expression.

            “You heard the director – go!” Mark spun Youngjae around, pushing him gently in the direction of the changing rooms, and though Youngjae wanted to tell his boyfriend he was going to murder him later, the most he could manage was a dazed smile as he practically skipped down the hall, ready for his stage debut.

*

            Jackson was sitting beside as the play started, JB knocking his head back against the shelves behind him, cursing himself for ever following after the playful blonde. His head shot up however when he heard the clear voice echoing through the hallway, turning his attention to Jackson. “Is… Is that…?” he asked softly, his surprise clear. Jackson nodded slowly, a proud smile stretching across his face.

            “Choi Youngjae,” he answered, nudging JB with his shoulder, and JB leaned back, smiling to himself.

            “Damn… Never would have guessed the kid had such a good voice,” he admitted, glancing over at Jackson. The younger one shrugged, clearly unsurprised. “So… You did this, so he could perform?” Jackson ruffled his hair a little, nodding slowly, suddenly a little embarrassed. JB looked down at his feet, sighing softly. “… I never even wanted to be in this stupid play in the first place, to be honest,” he finally admitted, earning a surprised glance from Jackson. “I just promised Junior I would do it.”

            “Then aren’t you glad I came to your rescue?” Jackson asked eagerly, expecting an eye roll or a scoff. The faint blush on his cheeks only deepened when JB nodded, smiling over at the boy.

*

            Mark was waiting in the wings of the stage as the show finished, the crowd’s applause nearly deafening as Youngjae took his final bow, that goofy grin plastered on his face. Mark couldn’t stop grinning either – he was just so happy to see his boyfriend finally show off his talents, the way they deserved to be showcased. Stepping back as Youngjae ran off the stage, Mark allowed himself to be tackled into a hug, his arms winding around the younger’s waist. “You were incredible, you know that?” Mark mumbled against Youngjae’s ear before pressing a kiss to his temple.

            “Thanks… But do I even wanna know how JB just happened to not show up tonight?” Youngjae pulled away slightly, wariness already in his eyes. Mark simply shrugged, grinning as he glanced down at his phone, seeing only words spelled out in all caps and an explosion of emojis.

            “Trust me – this plan worked out well for everyone,” he finally insisted, pressing his lips to Youngjae’s so he could silence any of the younger boy’s potential worries, just wanting to enjoy that moment and Youngjae’s sheer excitement.


End file.
